Ignition timer



IGNITION TIMER Filed Aug. 9. 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY July 31, 1934. w` E. scHwARzMANN i 1,968,224'

` vIGNI'IION TIMER Filed Aug. 9, 1932 4 sheets-sheet 2 ATTORNEY July 31 1934 w. E. scHwARzMANN 1,968,224

IGNITION TIMER Filed Aug. 9, 1932 4 She'ets-Sheet 3 'fj-L I .yy/.9 6"

ATTORNEY.

July 31, 1934. w. E. scHwARzMANN 1,968,224

IGNITION TIMER Filed Aug. 9, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTO R N EY Patented Ju1y31,1934

IGNITION -Tnima Wolfgang E. Schwarzmann,

Longmeadow, Maris.,

assignor to United American Bosch Corporation, Springfield, Mass., a York corporation of New Application August s, 1932, serial No. 628,072 i 9 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to improvements in timers having the form of combined interrupter-disttributor units particularly adapted for the ignition circuits of internal combustion engines for 5 aircraft. i

It is an object of the invention to provide a timer that can be utilized to produce ignition from a battery and that can enable the operator to Vdispense with one or more magnetos, for the purpose of effecting the saving of weight and space and permitting other accessories of the engine to be more advantageously mounted in operative p0- sition. f

'I'he advantages of the invention are set forth in the ensuing specification, taken with the drawings in which several embodiments of the invention are illustrated. I do not wish, however, to be limited to the constructions which the drawings set forth, but I reserve the right to make changesv in the shape, size and arrangement of the parts and otherdetails, to the full extent consistent with the broad and general meanings of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

A On the drawings:

- Fig. 1 is a `front view of a timer according to my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken through the circuit breaker portion thereof;

Fig.- 3 is a transverse section through the lower part of the distributor portion showing how the distributor is driven fromv the main shaft;

Fig. 4 is a top plan of the complete device; Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4:

Eig. 6 is a top plan showing substantially one.

half 'of another embodiment adapted to carry two distributors;v

Fig. 'I is a transverse of Fig. 6; ,y l

ig. 8 is a section taken along the line 8-8 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 9 is a front view view of what appears in Fig. 8. On the drawings the same numerals identify the same parts throughout.

Referring first toll'igs. 1 to 5 inclusive, I use lthe numeral. 1 to indicate a housing which may be cast in one piece, and is provided at one end with a flange 2 to enable it to be secured to the frame of an engine with which 'it is to operate. At its opposite end the housing 1 mounts an interrupter casing 3. and between the two ends.` supsection on the line 7-7 lis ported in laterally off-set position, is the distributor head 4 of insulation within which the parts j of the distributor are enclosed. vAn operating 56 shaft 5 extends l0n'gitud1nal1y 0f the housing 1 (Cl. 12B-146.5)

and is carried in a suitable anti-friction bearing mounted in the flange 2 at one end and in. a similar bearing supported by a closure plate 6 which-fits into the opposite end of the housing 1. This plate or ring 6 has a rim '7 and within this 60 rim iitsthe cylindrical projection 8 at the bottom of the interrupter casing '3. The closure plate 6 is secured .within the housing 1 by a screw 9, engaging a suitable internally threaded projecp tion in the housing 1; and the circuit breaker 65 casing 3 may bev retained by a similar screw 10 which passes through the bottom of the projection 8 and engages the plate 6. This screw 10 may have a spring between the head thereof andthe bottom of the casing -3 and the opening in said 70` bottom through which this screw passes may be in the form of a curved slot so that the casing 3 can be turned for the purpose of` advancing yor retarding the spark. E y

To carry the distributor the housing 1 has a I6 lateral extension 12 inthe form of a socket'open at its upper end to receive the bottom edge or rim of the distributor head or shell 4. rIhe extension 12 has an outturned rim 13, and on the top o i' this rim is a retaining ring 14 which is 80 disposed in a circumferential groove 15 around the' outside of the head 4. This ring is held in place by screw 16 which engages notched projections 17 at opposite sides of the extension- 12. The inside of the extension or socket 12 may have 86 a shoulder 18 and the lower end ofthe head 4 may rest upon this shoulder, or upon packing or upon a gasket (not shown) laid thereon, or may be spacedfrom this shoulder as desired. Within the Shell 4 is the rotor 19 0f the distributor, this 90 y rotor being of insulation and ailixed to the upper end of a shaft 20 in the socket 12. This shaft 20 has a worm gear 21 whichengages a similar gear 22 onvthc shaft 5. The shaft is provided with an l anti-friction bearing 23, the outer race-way of1`95` which rests upon a shoulder'24 in the socket' 12 and the inner race-way, of each is engaged by a shoulder 25 on the shaft 20, so that the bearing supports this shaft. Adjacent the top of this bearing the socket 12 is shouldered inside to support 100 a plate 26 having a. central opening forthe shaft 20. On this plate is a washer 27 of some absorb-y ent material to retain lubricant also surrounding the shaft and the parts 26 and 27 are held inplace by a flat perforated plate 28; screw 29 pass- 105 ing through this plate and the plate 26 to secure them in position. The rotor 19 is recessed in the bottom and -is secured to the upper end of the shaft 20-by a retaining screw 30. 'Ihe parts 26,

27 and 28 can of course have any shape, dimen- 110 sions, or construction to render them suitable for the purpose in view.

On this upper end, the rotor 19 carries a distributor brush 31 which revolves therewith and comes into position adjacent high tension terminals 32, which are connected to spark plug leads,

end exposed and in position to make contact with the tip of a high tension lead leading from the secondary of the spark plug. The head 4 receives a protecting cap 37 which engages an outside shoulder 38 surrounding the head 4; the high tension conductor passing through the sockets 33 and 36 under this cap to the .outside through the bottom of an extension 39. I

The end of the shaft 5 Within the casing 3 carries a circuit breaker cam 40, and this cam will engage an interrupter lever to move same periodically away from a fixed contact in the primary circuit of the spark coil. These parts of the interrupter are not shown but may beof any suitable construction. Within the casing 3 near the bottom is a plate 41 which may carry the interrupter and the fixed contact, said plate being secured by one or more screws 42. In the side of the casing is a hollow bushing 43 for the insertion of the low. tension conductor of the spark coil and the end of the casing is closed by a cover 44 held in place by a spring catch 45, which is pivotally mounted on the end of a post 46 secured to the extension 12. The casing 3 has an adjusting arm 47 to shift it, and the flange 2 may have curved slots 48 for the passage of bolts to secure it on the frame of an engine and permitadjustment of the position of the timer as a whole.

This unit is quite compact and of little weight and might be used in place of one or more magnetos 'on an airplane engine; according to the number of projections on the cam 40, the number of distributor terminals 32 and the speed at which the shaft 2 is geared to be driven. Ordinarily it can be used to replace one magneto. If the engine of any particular airplane has two magnetos, two of these units in small sizes can be made up, one to take the place of each magneto; or the unit might be made large enough so that one may replace both magnetos, leaving the space occupied by the other magneto available for a different accessory of the engine.

The construction shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inc lusive, if desired, may be designed to include two distributors, with heads 4 and extensions 12 in line at one side of the housing l.

In mounting the device shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive the'extension 12 will be on the side of the housing 1 which is away from the engine so that the distributor head will not be too close to the side thereof. Y

Figs. 6 and 7 show an interrupter-distributor unit constructed to include a single circuit breaker casing and two distributor heads 4, one at each side, one at the ends of the housing 1. For this purpose the housing is provided at each side with an extension 12a in such position that the main axis of each extension and the distributor head thereon is in inclined position; that is to say, the axes of the two extensions 12a will diverge with respect to each other; and the'lange 2 will have the slots 48 in such position that, when the device is mounted, the. hois'ing 1 will present the two distributor heads 4 on the side which isturned away from the supporting framework of the engine. 'I'hus the unit can be disposed close to the side of the engine and access to all of the parts can very easily be obtained. The cap 45 can easily be removed to inspect the circuit breaker and likewise the caps 37 and heads 4. With this embodiment the casing 1 may enclose either a single breaker lever andits stationary 'contact or a larger number; and the cam will have a suitable number of projections to open the circuit whenever the brush 31 comes adjacent one of the high tension contacts 32. Fig. 6 shows only one of the distributor heads, while Fig. 7 presents and lower half 50, the upper halves having aper tured projections 51 through which fastening bolts 52 can be passed to go through retaining rings 14a and be screwed in the rims 13. The shields will each have a neck 53 within which is an insulating disc 54 with an opening 55 to receive high tension conductors. The lower edges 56 of the bottom sections 50 of the shields envelop the retaining rings 14a and the two halves of each shield are secured together by bolts 57which suit- `two halves. f

In thisform the casing 4 will have means shown at 43a and 43h for leading in two low tension conductors of the ignition circuit, one for each pair of contacts. nipple 58 riveted within an opening of the casing 1 and counter-bored at its outer end to receive a perforated button 59 of insulation. This button will be conical at its two ends and will be held in place by a retaining ring 60 having inside threads to engage the threads at the outer ably engage the rims at the meeting edges of the end of the nipple; and this ring will be contracted at its outer end to hold in place a pair of concentric necks 61 and 62, the inner ends of which are flared to t against the outer conical end of the button 59. The conductors arev passed in At each point there will be a hollow through these necks, the perforated button 59 and the nipple 58 to the inside of the casing 3. Thev outside oi' the casing 3 may be encircled by a ring 63 to which the timing arm is afxed.

This embodiment is mounted in the same way as that shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The construction of Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are intended to replace two magnetos and only a single shaft connection is required to operate them. 'I'he place of the other magneto can be taken by an additional accessory, such as a generator. The ignition circuit in this case will include two spark coils with high and low tension windings.

The distributor head 4, or any other part, may have one or more openings or the like to vent injurious gases formed therein, and vanes or blades may be secured to the rotor 19 to assist in the Ventilating operation.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A timer comprising a housing having a ange at one end to enable the timer to be mounted, an interrupter casing at the opposite end, said housing having a laterally oir-set exincassa' tension between said ends and a distributor supported on said extension.

2. A timer comprising a housing with a flange at one end and a shalt having a bearing in said flange, a closure plate for the opposite end of the housing, said plate providing a second bearing for said shaft, and a timer casing having a cylindrical projection engaged by said plate and supported thereby, the shalt projecting into said casing.

3. A timer comprising a housing, a shaft in the housing having a bearing in one end thereof, the opposite end of the'4 housing carrying a closure plate providing a second bearing, said plate having a rim, a casing having a projection from the bottom encircled by said rim, the casing being secured to said closure plate, a shaft projecting into the casingand an adjusting arm attached to said casing.

4. A timer comprising a housing having a laterally oE'-set socket with a rim thereon, a distributor head received within said rim, a retainin'g ring received in an encircling groove on said head and securing means engaging the ring and the rim of the socket to hold the distributor head in place. V

5. A timer comprising ahousing having a laterally oil-set socket, a shaft in said socket, an anti-friction bearing supporting said shaft. a retaining plate within the socket overlying the bearing, a washer on said plate and a second plate covering said washer, said plates being secured together against a shoulder in said socket.

6. A timer having a housing with an exterior extension providing an open-ended socket, a shalt in the housing, a shaft in the socket, gearing for connecting said shafts, a distributor head secured to the rim o! the socket, the shaft therein carrying a Vrotor and a radio shield comprising upper and lower sections covering the head and secured to said rim, said `sections being joined together and anchored .to said rim by bolts, said shicld'having a neck with a closure therein provided with an aperture for the ignition leads to 'the terminals o! the distributor.

'1. A timer comprising a housing,l the latter having a pair of laterally off-set sockets, one on 'each side o! the housing. a distributor head mounted in each socket, a separate distributor shaitineachsockstandadriveshaftinthe housing to rotate the distributor shafts.

8. A timer comprising a housing, the latter having a pair o! laterally oil-set sockets, one on each side d the housing, the axes of said sockets eonverginstowardstbeaxiscftbehousing,adis tributar head mounted in each socket, a distributor a'driveshaitin the housing-tn'rotate the distributor shafts.

9. Atimerccmprisingahousinghavingashait extending thereof. the housing having .a pair obets, one on each side ot the shaft, the axes of said sockets converging towards said shait, a distributor head secured tothe rimoieachsocketandashaitineachlo socket carrying-a rotox'in thehead and gearing for connecting said shafts to the mst-named shalt.

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